Saturday, January 30, 2010

While in the checkout line at my local Walmart, I saw Vince Shlomi's "Slap Chop" on an impulse buying shelf (and sitting beside Snuggies, no less).

I could comment on how the slogan at the bottom of the package, "Making America skinny, one slap at a time!," is rather appropriate, given his adventures last year with a South Beach prostitute. But I won't.

What really disturbs me about this product is Shlomi's face on the package. Have you noticed how freaky it is? Go ahead, take a closer look:

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I was on Yahoo Mail the other day and I came across this flash ad. It's for regiMEN, an anti-aging skincare formula for men. The thing that creeped me out about this is that the image of the guy, before his face is "wiped" young, looks like something you'd fine in a museum, the Egyptian section where they keep the mummies. Check it out:

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Here's an advertisement I found in a Dr. Leonard's catalog we recently received in the mail. The company bills itself as "America's Leading Discount Healthcare Catalog." It offers all sorts of items for maintaining health, hygiene, and mobility...including the Snuggie and the Shake Weight. Along with all of these health-oriented items, most targeting a more mature audience, there is this, the Activ-otc Power Strips:

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Here's a blast from the past. When I had the original Gallery of the Absurd, it was still the early days of widespread Internet usage. There were many sites that ran advertisements soliciting the use of banners and how big of a payoff it could be. Here's such an ad I found back in the late 1990s, but I don't think I ever used it in the Gallery back then:

Monday, January 25, 2010

A friend of mine, Brad Klypchak, found this place across from a strip mall in Tyler, TX. Brad says that apparently nothing has fallen from the sign, since the name is spelled the same way in signs on both corners of the building.

But if anyone should happen to find a missing "g" or a missing double quote mark, please let us know.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Why, why, why?! Apparently, the Vitamin Water company allowed Facebook uses to choose the new flavor for their product, and they chose...Facebook-flavor!

It's called "Connect," and it's described as having "a tasty black cherry-lime flavor made with caffeine and 8 key nutrients." I guess both the caffeine and nutrients are needed so that happy consumers can stay awake and healthy enough to remain logged onto Facebook.

"Made by fans, for fans on Facebook." My god...if there's anything that would make me want to deactivate my Facebook account, this would be it.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

About a year and a half ago I started to notice some weird or annoying stickers they were putting on the bananas I buy at the store. These were all from the Chiquita company and you can find the stickers here, here, here, and here. Yesterday, however, when getting more bananas, I noticed this on the bunch:

I had never gotten Carmelita brand bananas before, but what struck me about this sticker is the icon of whom I take to be product's mascot. At first, I thought that this was an image of a skeleton, and that there was some weird Day of the Dead thing going on with my fruit (they are from Mexico, after all). If you really look at it, there is something spooky and a tad disturbing about this label.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Good friend and Gallery stalwart, Al Wirtes, found this toy box cover in a Big Lots:

And here is Ring around the Nosy in action:

Brian Donahue, another good friend of the Gallery, points out that in TheInterpretation of Dreams, Freud says, "We have a case of such displacement when the genitals are replaced by the face in the symbolism of thought.... The nose is compared to the penis in numerous allusions..."

Thanks, Al and Brian, for putting our toy-filled holiday season into context.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The other day I saw this commercial for the Shake Weight. You may have already seen the commercial. It's for a weighted exercise device that you shake up and down with your hands, and it's supposed to build your arm muscles.

I could point out the obvious here, but I won't.

Much thanks to my friend, Chris Gonzalez, for alerting me to a commercial you--or a loved one--can really grab onto.

Friday, January 1, 2010

For those who like multiple levels of idiocy, this Gallery entry is for you. First we have the obvious misuse of quotation marks, a perfect image for the Don't "Quote" Me on That special section. Then there's the whole questionable relationship between knives and the new year.

What the hell does this sign mean? Is there a message on lower frequencies that I'm not hearing? Should I be scared?

Just who is this Gallery guy?

The Gallery of the Absurd is a repository of weird--but real--advertisements, labels, and signs. It began in 1996 as a simple website of scanned images and sarcastic commentary, featuring such specialty pages as "The Annoying J. Crew Model of the Week," "The Arch Deluxe Hate Page," "Clowns Are Scary," and "Jenny McCarthy, Enough Is Enough!" Due to massive audience feedback and contributions, The Gallery quickly grew in popularity, winning the 1997 Webby Award in the "Weird" category. After a brief hiatus, it is back as a blog, so folks can now easily get their daily fix of the warm and creamy goodness that is contemporary marketing.